Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, January 2026 — Grasim Industries announced in an exchange filing the appointment of Sachin Sahay as the Chief Executive Officer of Birla Opus Paints and as Senior Management Personnel of the company, effective February 16, 2026. He succeeds Rakshit Hargave, who stepped down in November 2025 to join Britannia Industries as CEO and MD. The appointment marks a significant leadership transition as Grasim accelerates the expansion of its paints business under the Birla Opus brand.
Sachin Sahay brings more than two decades of deep consumer and channel leadership experience from ITC Limited, where he has spent nearly 23 years driving large-scale sales transformation across India. In his most recent role as Executive Vice President – Sales Operations & Development, he led pan-India sales for Cigarettes and FMCG, overseeing strategy execution, distributor and field force management, analytics, and channel architecture. His tenure established him as one of the most respected commercial leaders within ITC’s consumer businesses.
Earlier at ITC Limited, he served as Head of Modern Trade, E-Commerce & Alternate Channels, steering national strategy for all FMCG categories including Foods, Personal Care, and Tobacco. He played a critical role in shaping ITC’s entry into organized retail and digital commerce, building partnerships with modern trade chains and designing alternate route-to-market models that strengthened brand reach and revenue quality.
In prior assignments, Sachin Sahay held leadership positions as Marketing Manager – Tobacco, driving consumer engagement, digital media initiatives, HoReCa and travel retail channels, and retail space architecture. As District Manager (North) and later General Manager – eChoupal, he managed large FMCG sales territories and ITC’s rural marketing and distribution platform, gaining first-hand expertise in Bharat markets and rural consumer ecosystems.
During the early phase of his career, he served as Branch Manager and Brand Manager for iconic cigarette brands including Gold Flake, India Kings, B&H and 555. Before joining ITC, he was Brand Manager (Parker & Waterman) at Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd (A Gillette JV), where he built foundational skills in premium brand positioning and consumer marketing. Sachin Sahay holds an MBA in Marketing from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).
About Grasim Industries – Birla Opus Paints
Grasim Industries offers a comprehensive portfolio of more than 145 products and 1,200+ SKUs across water-based paints, enamels, wood finishes, designer finishes, waterproofing solutions, and textures. The Birla Opus Paints range caters to economy, premium, luxury, and institutional segments with over 2,300 tintable shades, including 216 iconic Indian shades. The company has introduced the industry’s first direct painting service PaintCraft and operates six fully automated manufacturing plants that add nearly 40% incremental capacity to the Indian paints sector. With the vision of transforming homes into a true ‘Magnum Opus,’ Birla Opus invites consumers to Duniya ko Rang Do with innovation, quality, and design excellence.
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